Rome, Jan 4 (IANS/AKI): Eni has signed an accord to purchase from Caelus Energy a 70 per cent stake in the Oooguruk oil field that it doesn't already own, allowing the Italian energy giant to ramp up its production in Alaska by around 7,000 barrels of oil per day, the company said in a statement.

Eni already owns the remaining 30 per cent working interest in Oooguruk and operates 100 per cent of the nearby Nikaitchuq oil field. Thursday's agreement will allow major "synergies and optimizations" between the two oil fields, the statement said.

Eni plans to drill further production wells at Oooguruk and Nikaitchuq, with the target to increase its total Alaska production beyond 30,000 boed, according to the statement.

The Oooguruk oil field, located in the Beaufort Sea, five km off Alaska's North Slope coast, has been in production since 2008 and current gross production is of approximately 10,000 bopd from 25 producing wells and 15 gas/water injector wells.

The buyout from US-based Caelus Energy "will also further strengthen Eni's presence in the region after the recent acquisition in August 2018 of 124 exploration leases..in the Eastern North Slope of Alaska," the statement added.

The agreement was subject to approval by local authorities.

Eni is present in 21 oil and gas fields in the US and operates 11 of these with a net daily production of approximately 60,000 boed.

The company holds 228 leases in the Gulf of Mexico and in Alaska and has a non-operated participation in the Alliance shale gas field near Fort Worth, Texas, where it operates by offering support to the municipal waste disposal system.